Tuesday, January 14, 2003

One Woman's Fight to Rescue the EnvironmentJOHANNESBURG, JAN 14, 2003--Somalia lost many things as a result of having no government for over a decade during the 90s, but one of the least obvious was an ability to protect it's environment.

With no authority in Mogadishu to defend fish stocks, fragile coral reefs and already slender tree resources, it has been open season for international companies and private individuals to exploit and pollute as they wish. Waste dumping on Somalia's coast soared, as did the flushing of ship's waste tanks; in the north-east of the country, precious and scarce old-growth acacia trees were cut down by armed groups to make charcoal for export to the middle-east; environmental degradation and desertification intensified throughout the decade.